So I woke up on my bed. Again. And it's June 6. Except that there might be something new that's going to happen after all those loops. I arrived even faster this time compared to all the other loops, probably because I had to find out why Aira looked kinda happy after killing a classmate. Did she finally lose it? I hope not.

I went straight to the staircase, our usual meeting spot; and Aira was already there, waiting. As I became very curious as to why she smiled, I couldn't wait to ask her.

"Hey."

"Yeah."

She looked a little less dead inside than usual, which is probably a good thing.

"What's up? You look a bit better."

"Uh... Yeah, so..."

Hm? Did she actually lose it?

"I may have found the culprit."

...For real?

"...What?"

"Mhm."

"Are you sure?"

"About 90%."

"That's higher than I thought. Why do you think so though?"

"Well, you know Zeph, right?"

"Yeah. What about him?"

"So, you know how I did the thing yesterday too, right?"

"...Yeah??"

Damn it, just get to the point already!

"He had a weird tattoo that looked like a summoning circle from a manga on his neck that I saw when I went close to him. I also kind of felt a nostalgic reaction from it."

A weird tattoo? Also, that's very descriptive.

"I won't be asking if he had some problems that led him into getting a tattoo but, a reaction? Are you suddenly a psychic or something?"

This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there.

"To be honest, given the situation right now, I could say yes and you'd probably believe me, but no. I don't understand the reaction either. It kind of felt like an instinct or something like that."

Well, she's not wrong. I'd probably believe her. But an instinct...huh.

"If you say so. I can't really say anything to somebody who time looped more than 7,000 times."

"Haha, you're right."

I guess it's good that she's brightened up enough. But it's almost time for class. What's she gonna do now that she has a potential culprit candidate?

"Anyways, you know who it is now, so what're you gonna do?"

"Well... Kill him, of course. That already happened though, but I'll need to check if the tattoo is still there."

"What if the tattoo didn't disappear?"

"...Huh."

She really didn't think this through, huh.

"I guess I'll talk to him first."

"Better than mindlessly going on a genocide for sure."

Finally, the bell rings. So Aira and I hurried to the classroom and I took my seat. This time, Aira won't be instantly jumping Zeph, as she wants to talk to him and confirm some things. I hope it goes well though. But for now, a class that I've taken thousands of times takes priority.

***

"So. What's up with that?"

"...With what?"

"That."

I see Aira and Zeph talking on the other side of the classroom and I can kind of overhear their conversation for some reason. I guess improved hearing is a perk of repeatedly looping.

"What do you mean, 'That'? Just say what it is already."

"That tattoo on your neck. Where's it from?"

"What tattoo? I don't get tattoos done."

Aira pulls out her smartphone and takes a picture of Zeph's neck. But she suddenly looked confused. I wonder why.

"So? Where's the 'tattoo', huh?"

"..."

Aira runs out of the classroom, so I followed her to find out what just happened. As I was on the way to the door, I catched a glimpse of Zeph smirking.

After a solid 2 minutes of running around the school grounds to get to the typical staircase spot, I called out to Aira.

"Aira! What happened?"

"That..."

"...That?"

"That bitch!"

WOAH. I did NOT expect a word like that from her. At all.

"Just because I rejected you two months ago because you shamelessly confessed in front of half the student body without noticing your weird underwear was peeking out your back, you're being a jerk now!? YOU'RE the one who confessed to me, so why are you being so— Grrr..."

"Um..."

That's a lot of information.

"Uh, looks like he's not willing to talk. I don't really want to suggest this, but I guess you have no choice now, right?"

"Yeah, looks like it."

"Well, good luck, I guess."

We chatted a little more before going back for class. Then, as pissed as she was, Aira hurriedly ran to the classroom, ready to jump Zeph. Come to think of it, why was Zeph smirking after Aira talked to him? Was he just happy she talked to him again after the rejection? I don't think that could even be called a conversation.

Well... Whatever it is, godspeed, Brother.